Murder suspect ordered back to jail

Officials: Violated terms by contact with child

Mar. 18, 2013

AustinPelley

Written by

As soon as a 22-year-old single mother discovered the man she was dating had been charged with murder in the death of a child, she called police.

Austin M. Pelley was out on bond in a 2012 murder case when he spent time with the woman who also has a child, a 2-year-old daughter, prosecutors said. He had met her on the Internet after being charged in the death of his previous girlfriend’s son, also 2.

On Friday, a judge ordered Pelley back into the Greene County Jail.

Pelley had been free since Sept. 21 after posting a $200,000 bond with the help of a bond agent.

Then, Pelley had just been charged with the death of the son of that previous girlfriend, also 2.

In the case, Chelsea Garrison allowed Pelley, whom she had been dating for two to three months, to baby-sit the 2-year-old. Garrison told police that she had left at 5:45 p.m. June 15 to go to Everest College to take a test.

About a half-hour later, neighbors of Pelley’s apartment say they heard two loud “booms” or “thuds” coming from the apartment, according to court documents.

Garrison told police that at 6:41 p.m. at school, she suddenly “got a weird feeling” about Benjamin and called Pelley to check on him, according to search warrant documents.

Garrison told police, documents say, that Pelley told her: “Your son went running into the bathroom and fell!”

Pelley told Garrison that he found Benjamin lying on the bathroom floor crying and carried him into the living room to calm him, according to the warrants.

After about 15 minutes, Benjamin lay down on the living room floor and went into a catatonic state.

Garrison rushed the boy to Mercy Hospital, according to the documents.

After emergency surgery removed a portion of the boy’s skull to relieve pressure, he remained in “extremely critical condition.” Hospital staff told police the 2-year-old had severe bruising on his face with several additional blue-colored bruises and older brown-colored bruises on his body, according to the documents.

On June 17, Benjamin died.

An extensive autopsy revealed retinal hemorrhaging and abusive head trauma caused the death, according to the documents.

Pelley was charged in September with second-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death, though Pelley could only be convicted of one charge. Either charge carries a possible life sentence.

Two months after Pelley was released on bond, court documents say, he violated the conditions of his release by having contact with a child.

Pelley is now being held without bond.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for May 21.

Pelley’s attorney, John Patrick O’Connor, said he respected the judge’s decision but he declined to comment further.